Haribo macht Kinder froh…

… und Erwachsene ebenso! (or: Kids and grown-ups love it so, the happy world of Haribo).Haribo, in case you were not aware, is the company responsible for Gummibears, which I know would not normally feature on this blog as they have little to do with style and probably aren’t the best material out of which to try to fashion earrings (although I could always give it a go, I suppose). No, the reason I am mentioning them today is that a friend from my university days in Bonn, Germany, recently told me that every autumn, great queues of people line up in front of the Haribo factory with bags of chestnuts and acorns. Some even stay there overnight. Why? Because the owner of Haribo needs chestnuts and acorns to feed his deer and boar, and exchanges them for Gummibears. Even though I can’t see why you’d need that many Gummibears, and I’m not so keen on the reason he needs to feed the deer and boar (to fatten them up for hunting season) I have to love this bartering idea from such a massive company – perfect for Buy Nothing New month, yes? And on that note, another message from my friend in Bonn made me very happy today. An avid gardener, she’s been reading all my stuff about Buy Nothing New month and was inspired to go to a plant swap, where she was thrilled to swap her roses for some daisies and chat to people who are as crazy about gardening as she is. She’s also finally started her gardening blog, so if any of you read German and like pottering around outside, please take a look. It’s such a great feeling to know that what I’m doing (and of course what the people at Buy Nothing New are doing) can make a difference, however small, in someone’s life!! How about you – do you have any great Buy Nothing New stories to share? Erzaehl mal!